Many Western composers, including Debussy, Ravel, Messiaen, and Britten, have found inspiration in South East Asia's ancient musical traditions. Contact with a different musical language prompts many questions; this book is an attempt to set the scene and to answer the most essential of these, in as non-technical a way as possible. It focuses on the instruments themselves, set in the context of their musical function and of the history, beliefs, and social customs which the music expresses.